1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention relate to an image forming apparatus and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus to selectively perform an auto color registration operation, and a control method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image forming apparatus forms single-color images of a desired color (e.g., yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, etc.) on a photoconductive drum, or a photoconductive belt, and overlaps the single-color images on a printing medium. The image forming apparatus can be, for example, a laser printer, a scanner, a copier, or a multifunctional device.
The image forming apparatus overlaps the single-color images, on a desired location of a printing medium, to print a color image. The image forming apparatus performs a color registration process, to insure that the single-color images are properly overlapped/positioned. The color registration process can be an auto color registration process, or a manual color registration process. The auto color registration process can be performed before or after the printing. The image forming apparatus performs the auto color registration process, based on a predetermined auto color registration condition.
The auto color registration condition includes: 1) a case where a fusing temperature, to fuse of an image to the printing medium, does not correspond to a reference temperature, after the image forming apparatus is powered on; 2) a case where the fusing temperature does not correspond to the reference temperature, when a printing unit is in a print-ready state; 3) a case where the printing unit has printed more than a predetermined number of sheets; 4) a case where a consumable material is replaced; and 5) a case where a casing of the image forming apparatus is opened and then closed. That is, the image forming apparatus analyzes an image printed by a photoconductive medium, when an auto color registration condition is satisfied, and performs the auto color registration process, by controlling a light scan unit (LSU), when the image is distorted. In this case, the image forming apparatus consumes a developing material, by performing the auto color registration.
The conventional image forming apparatus may unnecessarily perform the auto color registration process, thereby wasting a developing material, and unnecessarily consuming power. However, the conventional image forming apparatus always performs the auto color registration process, when an auto color registration condition is satisfied.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.